


i'm looking for a light at the end of the night

by liebstes



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Fluff, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, maybe i actually should get someone to beta though hksdjf, no beta we die like men, they go to college but it's not like. super mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:47:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26626978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liebstes/pseuds/liebstes
Summary: Sokka had decided it was finally time he got high. Of course, his roommate Zuko is going down with him.---------------------------------------Basically 2k+ of fluff. They get high, feelings happen, and Zuko may or may not get petted.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 180





	i'm looking for a light at the end of the night

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the song We Get High by Ashe. 
> 
> Thanks for clicking! This fic brought to you by my gay meter getting RAMPED up whenever I'm high. Also, it's not in the fic but I HC Zuko as trans. Hope you enjoy :-)

It was a Friday. Sokka had finished class for the day, Zuko was stressing about a martial arts tournament he had next week. The weather was nice, a harsh contrast to the pouring rain a few days prior that made biking to school and back _not fun_. It was a Friday, and Sokka decided he needed to get high. 

Well, not exactly. It wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. A few weeks ago, Sokka was talking to some dude in his Chemistry class who was describing how he went to an art museum high with friends. Sokka laughed along, pretending to understand the feeling. This wasn’t the first time weed was talked about around him, but for some reason, he decided enough was enough. He was tired of missing out on this so call _’eigth wonder of the world’_ , or what his freshman year stoner roommate affectionately called it. 

Sokka, Zuko, and their friend group weren’t total prudes; they enjoyed drinking when together and going out to bars on Spring Break. But none of them had made the leap to another drug, and Sokka decided having to deal with a high Toph might be slightly too much to handle, so he just approached Zuko with this idea. He figured as being his roommate, it was only fair. 

Sokka was expecting some hesitation, maybe a scowl or lecture about how it was a bad idea. What he didn’t expect was for Zuko to shrug and go, “If you’re down I’m down.” 

Thus, here they were, Friday night, joint in hand. Sokka had managed to reach out to his former roommate, who had started dealing on the side, once he and Zuko realized they knew exactly no one else they could get weed from. The dealer described it to Sokka that he in no way understood, something about an Indica and Sativa blend, but he at least knew it was good for beginners. 

“So… have you smoked anything before? Like, do you know what to do?” Zuko asked, bringing Sokka out of his already wandering mind. 

Oh. Yeah. How _do_ you smoke this? He kinda forgot to ask about that part. 

“Uh. No, I haven’t. I watched Suki smoke a cigarette one time, does that count?” He replied, earning an eye roll from Zuko. 

Luckily, Zuko did have some experience. “No. But I’ve smoked a cig before too, so I guess it’s the same? You just hold it in your mouth and breathe in your nose, trying to breathe in the smoke as well? I guess?” He said, struggling to explain it. 

Sokka looked slightly confused, so Zuko offered to go first. 

As he held the joint up to his mouth and flicked their lighter, Sokka was too busy staring at his face to learn any sort of technique. Sure, he had seen Zuko’s face before, but never like this. Eyes looking downward, eyebrows furrowing in concentration, lips wrapped around the small paper end of the joint. _Fuck._

Zuko breathed in, slipped the joint out of his mouth, and started coughing his fucking lungs out. _Holy shit, had it really been that long?_ Zuko thought. He tried to control his breathing, making grabby hands at the glass of water sitting next to Sokka. 

After watching Zuko chug half a glass with watery eyes, Sokka was having some second thoughts. “Dude, are you actually okay? Do you think he didn’t give us straight weed? Oh fuck, was this a bad idea?” He rambled, but was caught off when Zuko pointed a finger at him fiercely. 

“No. We’re not chickening out. It’s fine, I just haven’t smoked in a while. You’ll probably cough too, but that’s normal.” He said, holding the joint out to Sokka before he could worry any more. Besides, Zuko can’t get high _alone_. That’s like, illegal. 

_It’s fine. You’re just gonna take a few hits and watch Spring Baking Championship until you pass out. It’s an experience,_ Sokka’s mind tried to reason. He held the joint between his index and middle finger, and slowly placed it in his mouth. 

Breathing in, he flinched. It was a weird sensation, feeling smoke move around in his mouth, but he tried to keep inhaling. It made his throat itch, but not incessantly. 

_It was actually kinda… nice?_ He thought as he took the joint out of his lips, but was interrupted when Zuko half-yelled, “Okay, what?! You’ve never smoked before but you can do that like it’s easy? Not fair.” 

Sokka laughed, “Guess it’s another one of my hidden but many talents. Not my fault you’re bad at it.” 

They both knew they were egging each other on, but Zuko took the bait anyway. He grabbed the joint back from Sokka and took another hit, successfully not dying after. He glared at Sokka in the middle of it as if saying, _See, asshole? Not that hard._

They continued passing the joint for the next few minutes, a comfortable silence stretching between them as they gazed out the window they were using to smoke. Zuko could understand why people did this, the comfort and warm feeling he got along with the growing sensation of just… fuzziness was certainly enjoyable. Plus, it wasn’t that often that Sokka was this quiet. 

His mind was wandering. He started staring at Sokka’s hand resting on the windowsill, as the sound of their in-unit heater seemed to be growing slightly louder. Sokka. His hands were so nice. They looked so good holding the joint, Zuko realized he would watch Sokka hold anything right now. 

Sokka was the first one to break the silence. 

“Alright… I think I’ve had enough,” he said slowly, his tongue feeling slightly too big and hazy. Zuko could only nod in agreement as he put the joint out, and they both meandered over to the couch. 

Sokka sat down with a huff and stared at the table across the room that held their TV, books, and DVD collection. Hmf, there’s the Game of Thrones series that Zuko just insisted on buying, even though they both agreed the ending was one of that year’s major disappointment. _Hmm. Zuko,_ his mind supplied. He brought his gaze to his roommate next to him, who was staring at the coffee table as if it held the secret of the universe. 

Sokka had a sudden moment of clarity. They were high, they weren’t gonna waste it staring at their living room. He grabbed the remote and turned to Zuko. 

“So, buddy, whatcha thinking? Cooking show? Stupid movie?” He gasped before Zuko could even answer, speaking in a high voice as if he was opening a present, “ _Spiderman._ ” 

Zuko blushed. Seeing Sokka so excited about just a movie was adorable, and he couldn’t help but grin in response, which made Sokka smile even more. 

“Yeah. I’m down.” 

Zuko could tell he wouldn’t be able to focus much on the movie, his mind was too busy jumping between Sokka and all their furniture that suddenly looked weird and Sokka and how good cereal sounded right now, oh, and Sokka. 

Luckily, Sokka had taken slightly fewer hits and was at least semi-functional. He managed to get the movie up and running, but couldn’t stop his mouth from opening and saying, “Fuck, Andrew Garfield is _hot,_ ” when the title card came on. 

_What the fuck,_ He doesn’t say shit like that, not usually? Sure, he liked flirting and noticing attractive people, but he always felt weird doing so around Zuko. 

The man in question, however, only grew more red. Hearing Sokka say ‘fuck’ in that tone and the explicit _gayness_ of his sentence was impossible to ignore. He could only hum in agreement and pretend he wasn’t dying. 

Sokka seemed to take his response as normal, as he started the movie and leaned back on the couch. His brain felt fuzzy and it was hard to stay still, he kept adjusting his legs or fidgeting with his hands. Sure, that wasn’t abnormal for him, but it was pretty excessive right now. 

He managed to get through about thirty minutes of the movie in relative peace, but he felt so twitchy. He needed to do something with his hands. He needed to touch and hold something. 

He made the mistake of looking over to Zuko, and _oh shit he let his hair down._ His normal high bun was gone, and instead, his hair went flowing down past his shoulders. Sokka had always been fascinated with his hair, but right now? It was the only thing on his mind. 

Zuko felt a presence and looked over to see Sokka staring at him. Not directly, but moving between his shoulder and forehead and chest. _What?_

Evidently, Sokka noticed he was found out, and managed to get his mouth to make words. 

“Sorry… I just like… really want to touch your hair right now.” 

Well. That was not what Zuko was expecting to hear. Somehow, though, it made total sense. So instead of questioning him, he simply scooted over closer to Sokka and put his head in his lamp. 

Sokka was not okay. First of all, he didn’t mean to say that, _second of all,_ he didn’t expect Zuko to just go on and plop his head so close to him. But hey, he wasn’t gonna look a horse gift in the mouth, or whatever. 

He started out just petting Zuko’s head, his hair feeling like fine silk under his rough fingers, before moving on to gently feel the strands that went over his lap to the other side of him. _Fuck._ Who knew Zuko’s hair was so soft. 

He brought up his other hand, using one to pet Zuko and the other to tangle his fingers in. He was having a blast. Sokka had never been this close to him before, he was still feeling light and fuzzy, and Andrew Garfield made for some good background noise. 

Meanwhile, Zuko was slowly turning into a pile of mush. His thoughtless decision was turning out to be a very good one, as each stroke of Sokka’s hands had him sinking more and more into their couch. His eyes had fallen shut and his mouth slightly opened as he basked in this feeling that he had missed so much. 

“You’re making me feel so good.” 

Fuck, he didn’t mean to vocalize that, though. His eyes shot open when he realized what he said, scared of how Sokka will react, if he’ll cringe or shove him off, or- 

Oh. Sokka was looking down on him, a big sheepish grin on his face, cheeks slightly pink. Sokka was not an easy blusher. His skin tone made it much easier to hide than Zuko, so witnessing him like this was a treat. 

Sokka, so content with how he, and apparently Zuko, were feeling, brought his hand to Zuko’s face and stroked down the side of his cheek, brushing away hair that was stuck there. His hand stayed at Zuko’s chin, thumb and index finger holding it gently. 

The air between them was suddenly stifled and hot. They locked eyes and seemed unable to move them. 

Zuko was the first to break, unable to contain the continuing reddening of his cheeks, vaguely knowing what he wanted to say but unable on how to delivery it. 

“I’m not just… saying this because I’m high- well actually I am, but just because I feel confident enough. Uh, but I really do feel this, even when we’re not high and you’re not holding my face but- uh. I like you,” Zuko said, witnessing Sokka’s eyes grow even bigger, “And I’m sorry if this… ruins things or makes this weird but I just really really like you and have for a long time and-” 

Sokka’s thumb had moved over to his lips, just barely touching them, stopping Zuko from speaking. The air was so hot, but Zuko couldn’t take his eyes off Sokka and all the freckles he had around his nose. 

“Zuko,” Sokka said. “Zuko, I,” But cut himself off with a small laugh. 

“I like you too. Like, a lot. Too much, I thought.” 

Oh. 

_Oh._

He wasn’t sure how he did so without getting dizzy as fuck, but Zuko sat up abruptly and held Sokka’s face gently. 

“Can I… Can I kiss you?” 

Sokka just grinned and pulled him closer. 

_Fuck._ Their mouthes were hot and wet and felt so good sliding against each other. Zuko could do this for hours. Sokka tilted his head slightly and took the opportunity to bite Zuko’s lip, who couldn’t help but let out a moan. 

They continued kissing lazily, before pulling back and watching each other with low and heavy eyes. Sokka could barely believe what was happening, just that all of it was good. Very good. 

He looked up and realized the movie had ended, and suddenly felt a deep ache in his bones he knew only laying in bed could fix. 

“You wanna go fall asleep in my bed?” Sokka asked, voice rough and lips red from kissing. 

Zuko laughed. “No, your room is super gross. Make it mine and we’ve got a deal.” 

“You drive a hard bargain, partner. Too bad you’re as cute as a bug,” Sokka replies, Texan accent coming out of nowhere, making Zuko laugh even harder. 

Together, they stumbled to Zuko’s room, taking off their shirts and pants before flopping down and situating themselves so that Sokka’s back was to Zuko’s chest. 

“Goodnight,” Zuko murmured, pressing a kiss on top of Sokka’s head. 

“Night night,” Sokka mumbled, already half asleep. 

Zuko woke up as light hit his eyes, oh fuck, he forgot to close his curtain last night and- wait. Someone was in his bed. 

Sokka was just sitting up, hand rubbing against his eyes sleepily. Oh. Yeah. Last night happened. He grinned as he remembered everything and grabbed Sokka’s hand with his own, who smiled in return. 

“Hey. So, who knew my old stoner roommate was the secret to us getting together!” Sokka said with a laugh, earning a small kick from Zuko under the blanket. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! I absolutely love getting comments/kudos so drop some if you'd like!! Let me know your thoughts!!


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